Package turning device



J. L. FERGUSON PACKAGE TURNING DEVICE June 6, 1933.

Filed March 28', 1950 s Sheets-Sheet 1 w z! m" 67 I A 4% W v 53 ,6, i'IfiD'IZTJIIILILZZTQIlD "3: IZJ'IIIIITT- an i, 46 I .fiwenfor:

June 6, 1933. J FERGUSON 1,912,696

PACKAGE TURNING DEVICE Filed March 28, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 6,1933. J. L, FERGUSON PACKAGE TURNING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March28, 1950 m m M 9 0 n a W v 9 6 z/ 7/ m 2 W M w W11 w 4 W iIItIillc W WWfl%/// Z 0. 7 9 3 T r x Patented June 6, 1933 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE JOHN L. FERGUSON, OF JOLIEI, ILIJNOIS, ASSIGNOR TO 3. L.FERGUSON COMPANY, OF JOLIET, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION 01 ILLINOISPACKAGE TURNING DEVICE Application filed March 28, 1980. Serial No.439,612.

- My invention relates to package turning devices and more particularlyto devices for receivin and turning or inverting packages or containersas they are delivered from suit- 5 able filling and sealin machine,similar to that disclosed in .my Fatent No. 1,423,094, issued July 18,1922.

Packages of the type mentioned are commonly used for containing cerealor other material and are usually of heavy paper or paper board, the endflaps being folded and sealed in a suitable sealing machine. Thesepackages are delivered from the sealing machine before the glue or othersealing adhesiveused 16 in the final sealing operation is completelydry, and the flaps tend to loosen unless some means is provided to holdthem in lace.

One of the desirable features of t e present invention is the rovisionof means whereby packages are delivered laterally from a movingsealer-conveyor to a turning device wherein the packages are rotated ina plane transverse to the movement of the packages therethrough andwherein the packages are retained in horizontal axial alignmentthroughout the entire delivery and turning operation. This is importantin that it allows the high speed operation of the sealer and deliverymechanism to conform with modern quantity production.

In my invention I provide a simple and eflicient means for securing thedesired result, and it has for an object to provide means for receiving,pressing and turning the package, so that when it is delivered to theconveyor the weight of the material in the package will rest on the lastsealed flaps, holding them snugly in position while the packages aretravelling on the conveyor and until the adhesive is dry.

The turning operation loosens the material and tends to prevent bulgingof the sides of the package, which latter action also has a tendency toput a lateral strain on the flaps and loosen them.

A further object is the provision of a device vwhich will be automaticin operation and necessitate a minimum number of operations afi'ectingthe package.

Another object is to provide an eflicient turning device which will besmall in size and which may be operated directly from the sealingmachine and in which the turning device will not interfere in any waywith the normal operation of the sealing machine or the rapid deliveryof packages therefrom. To this end the hereinafter described packageturmng device is one in which the package is fed to and delivered fromthe device by the operation of the ordinary sealer dellvery mechanismonly and without the introduction of other handling devices.

Other objects will be apparent from the specifications and claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a cartonsealing machine showin the eject- 1 ing mechanism and a turning eviceassociated therewith, portions being broken away 1n section better toillustrate the mechanism; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device asillustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the turningdevice removed from the carton sealer; ig. 4 is a fragmentaryelevational view of the operating mechanism of the device, a coverthereof being removed and a. portion broken away;

Fig. 5 is a sectional perspective detail through a .ring gear andsupporting frame; Fig. 6 is a plan sectional view taken on the line 6-6of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the assembled driving member of theGeneva move ment used for timing the turning operation;

and,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the lockin portion of the driving memberillustrate I have illustrated my invention as applied to a sealingmachine which latter comprises a frame 1 supporting suitable sprockets 2and 3 for driving conveyor chains 4 and 5, respectively. The sprocketsare driven by any suitable means and in opposite directions so that theadjacent portions of the conveyor chains travel in the same direction,as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, and at the same speed.

Blocks 6 are mounted in spaced relation on the chain 4 and are arranfgedto receive and convey unsealed and un lled packages or cartons 7. Duringthe travel of the chain 4, one end of the empty carton is sealed and itis then automatically inverted by being forced, by air pressure, fromthe block through an inverted U-shaped chute as described in my abovementioned patent and transferred to one of a plurality of chairs 8 whichare mounted in spaced relation on the conveyor chain 5, and in staggeredrelation to the blocks 6 on the chain 4. The blocks 6 and the chairs 8are offset outwardly from their respective chains so that their axiallines coincide during their adjacent movement.

After the packages are transferred to the chairs 8 they areautomatically filled and sealed and are then delivered to the turningdevice 9, which comprises a casing 10 inclosing the operating mechanism,and which is preferably supported on the sealing machine by a bracket 11and a brace 12.

The turning mechanism includes a ring gear 13, rotatably mounted in anannular guide 14 in the casing 10, and which is retained in operativeposition by the ring cover 15. Package clamping members 16 are supportedin movable spaced relation on the brackets 17 formed integral with thering gear, and are held in alignment andoperative position by means ofguides 18 and springs 19. The clamping members or plates 16 are providedwith out-turned curved edges 20 to allow the easy entrance of thepackage from the chair 8.

The turning device is mounted on the sealing machine so that theclamping members 16 are in alignment with the filled and sealed movingpackage. A suitable follower or package ejector is moved forwardintermittently'to push the sealed packages from the chairs and betweenthe clamping members 16 where said packages will be held securel by thesprings 19 until pushed therefrom by a succeeding package.

The movement of the follower 21 is controlled and synchronized with themovement of the packages by means of a cam 22, the follower beingsecured to a slide 23 having a roller 24 operatively engaging in a camslot 25. The cam may be driven by any suitable means, preferably by adirect drive from some part of the sealer mechanism through a gear 26.The mechanism for intermittently turning the ring gear 180, to invertthe package, is driven from a cam shaft 27, to which is secured a pinion28 meshing in driving relation with a gear 29 formin a part of a Genevamovement driving mem er 30. The driving member comprises a locking plate31, a plate 32 having rollers 33 mounted thereon, and a gear 29, all ofwhich are secured together by screws 34. The complete driving member 29is mounted for free rotation on a stub shaft 35 supported rigidly in thecasing.

The rollers are arranged to engage in slots 36 in a driven member 37 forintermittent driving, the driven member being loosely mounted on theshaft 27 and the locking member 31 cooperating with arcuate surfaces 38during the rest periods. The ring gear is driven by the driven memberthrou h a gear 39 secured thereto by screws 40 an throug a pinion 41 anda gear 42. The pinion 41 and gear 42 are rigidly secured together andloosely mounted on the stub shaft 35, the gear 42 meshing with anddriving the ring gear 13. The above-described mechanism is inclosed in achamber 43 of the casing 10, which is provided with a removable cover44. Suitable conveyor belts 45 and 46 are arranged to receive thepackages as they are sing-driven from the sealer sprocket shaft 47,through a gear 48 thereon, an idler 49, a gear 50 on the shaft 51, andbevel gears 52 and 53.

*The slot 25 of the cam 22 is of such shape that the follower 21 ispushed forward quickly to a, point beyond the path of the chair 8 and isnot returned until the chair is beyond the path of the follower.

In operation the package is pushed between the clamping plates in thering gear and is then inverted by the rotation of the gear, the movementof which is controlled by the Geneva movement transmission between thering gear and the cam shaft, there being a definite time period betweeneach operation durin which the lates clamp snugly against t e flaps, andt e weight of the material in the inverted package also tending to pressthe flaps together from in side the package. The package is then forcedout of the turning device and between the conveyor belts by the pressureof the succeeding package. The length of the conveyor is such as toallow complete drying of the adhesive.

While I have described but one embodiment of my invention, it is to beunderstood that changes may be made in the mechanical features thereofwithout departing from the spirit of the invention, and I desire,therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope of theappended claims and the show-- ing of the prior art.

ed from the turning device, the belts I claim: 1. A package turningdevice coin llSlIlg means to receive a freshly sealed pac age in adirection axially of said turning device, means associated with saidrecelving means to support said package by pressure on the sealedportions, means for turning said supporting means, a driving means, aGeneva movement between said driving means and said supporting means, afollower for moving consecutive packages to said receiving means, andmeans to svnchronlze the effective operation of said follower with themefi'ective operation of said Geneva movement. I

2. A package turning device comprlsing a ring gear, package receivingand engaging means mounted in said gear, and means for intermittentlyturning said gear, said turning device being arranged to allow the packages to be received from one S1616. of said gear and ejected from theopposite side.

3. The combination with a package sealing machine of an ejecting deviceassociated therewith for laterally intermlttently ejecting packagestherefrom, a package turnmg device to receive said packages, and meansfor turning the received package substantially on an axis parallel withthe line of movement of the package into said turning device, eachsucceeding package ejecting the previously received package from saldturning device.

' 4. A package handling machine COIILPIIS- ing an ejecting means forejecting packages laterally from a conveyor, a turnlng means forinverting the ejected packages, sald conveyor being arranged to conveypackages between said ejector and said turning means, and means forsynchronizing the operation of said ejector and said turning means.

5. A package handling device comprislng a moving conveyor, means thereonfor snpporting a package, a follower for e ecting said package, aturning device to receive and turn said package, and means for movingsaid follower quickly to a point beyond the path of said packagesupportlng means to move said package into said turning device and toreturn said follower after said package supporting means is beyond thepath of said follower.

6. A package handling device comprising a rotatable ring member, afollower oscillatable to and from said ring in substantial- 1y axialalignment therewith, means for passing packages consecutively betweensaid follower and said ring and into axial alignment therewith, means insaid ring for engaging consecutive packa es, means for intermittentlyrotating sai ring, and means cooperating with said rotating means andsaid follower to synchronize their movements to cause said follower tooperate for moving packages consecutively into said ring after eachone-half revolution of said ring.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with aconstant speed sealer conveyor of an oscillatable follower adjacent oneside of said conveyor, a turning device on the opposite side of saidconveyor, chairs on said conveyor for supporting packages and arrangedto pass betweensaid follower and said turning device, means forintermittently operating said turning device, and means for moving saidfollower to a point adjacent said turning device and beyond said chairand returning said follower after the chair has passed the path of thefollower.

8. In a device of the character described, an oscillatable follower, anintermittently rotatable member spaced therefrom and rotatable in aplane at a right angle to the movement of said follower, packagecarriers arranged to move consecutivelybetween said follower and saidrotatable member, package clamping means in said rotatable member, andmeans to move said follower in front of each consecutive carrier to movepackages therefrom into said clamping means and back of each consecutivecarrier to return said follower.

9. The combination with a horizontally disposed sealer conveyor havingchairs thereon for supporting packages, of a rotatable package turningdevice adjacent said conveyor and rotatable in a plane parallel to thepath of said conveyor, a follower in substantially axial alignment withsaid turning device and movable from one side of said conveyor to theother to push packages consecutively from said chairs to said turningdevice, and operating mechanism between said turning device and saidfollower to cause the follower to push a package from a chair to saidturning device while said turmng device is stationary and to retain saidturning device and said follower stationary while said chair is passingthe path of-said follower and to rotate said turning device after saidfollower has started its return.

10. A package turning device comprising a rotatablepackage receivinmeans, means for moving packages through said receiving means on a lineco-axial with said receiving means, and means for rotating saidreceiving means and said package on said coaxial line while said packageis in said receiving means.

11. A package turning device comprising a package engaging means, meansfor moving packages bodily in a substantially straight line through saidpackage engaging means and stopping each consecutive package in saidengaging means, means for rotating said engaging means and package in adirection transverse to the line of movement and while the bodilymovement of the package is stopped.

12. A package turning device of the character described comprising acylindrical member rotatable on its axial line and at ranged to receivepackages from one end and to allow them to be ejected from the otherend, means in said member to engage the sealed portions of a package,and means for turning said member to invert said pack, age during saidengagement.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JOHN L. FERGUSON.

